1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor device design and fabrication and more particularly to trench isolation of such devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the semiconductor industry, there is a continuing trend towards increasing the number of components formed in an area of an integrated circuit. This trend is resulting in Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI devices). This trend is driving the semiconductor industry to explore new materials and processes for fabricating integrated devices having sub-micron sized features so that more devices can be formed in the same area of an integrated circuit. This is particularly true for the manufacture of the Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) or Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Integrated Circuits (ICs).
Such ICs generally consist of an array of active devices such as transistors or capacitors. Typically, each of the capacitors and transistors are separated by an isolation structure that is adapted to electrically isolate adjacent active devices from each other. As device density has increased, the overall dimensions of the capacitors, transistors and the isolation structures on a chip have been reduced by the manufacturers to meet limited space requirements. Moreover, these devices are being placed in closer proximity to each other to increase device density. This situation presents a special challenge for the isolation structures as these devices must be smaller and yet still provide the necessary isolation. In fact, the integrity and the reliability of each active device greatly depends on ability to electrically isolate each active device from adjacent active devices as leakage currents from adjacent devices can result in failure. Thus, despite decreasing dimensions of isolation structures, each isolation structure must still maintain the required degree of isolation to prevent leakage currents between the individual active devices.
Active devices on a chip are generally spaced apart by the regions known as field regions in which the isolation structures are formed. In fact, isolation between the active devices is achieved by interposing the isolation structure, normally called a field device, therebetween to interrupt the parasitic conduction. In particular, it is understood that a difference in potential between adjacent active devices induces charge carriers to travel between the two active devices. The difference in potential is referred to as the threshold voltage required to produce this parasitic conduction.
In many applications, the isolation structure used to inhibit parasitic conduction is formed out of a generally non-conductive oxide material, such as silicon oxide. Preferably, the presence of the isolation structure increases the threshold voltage necessary to produce parasitic conduction to a point where the difference in potential between adjacent active devices never reaches the threshold voltage. This threshold voltage, in the context of isolation structures, is commonly referred to as the field threshold. With these types of isolation structures, the threshold voltage resulting from the formation of the isolation structure is proportionate to the thickness of the isolation structure. Hence, the thicker the structure, the greater the threshold voltage which results in less parasitic conduction during active device operation.
For clarity, the mechanism of parasitic conduction between active devices can be viewed as a parasitic device that is established between active devices. The parasitic device is analogous in operation to a field effect transistor. Consequently, the isolation structure, acting as a gate in a field effect transistor, increases the threshold voltage of the parasitic devices that spontaneously exist between the active devices and prevents inadvertent electrical coupling between the active devices. The goal in any isolation scheme, is to make this field threshold voltage as high as possible without adversely effecting the characteristics of adjacent devices. In the semiconductor industry, this is conventionally done by forming thick isolation structures in the field regions.
Such isolation structures are conventionally formed using processes such as LOCOS (For LOCalized Oxidation of Silicon) or trench isolation. In the LOCOS process, thick isolation structures known as field oxide regions are formed by oxidizing the regions between adjacent active devices. Although the high field threshold provided by such thick field oxide effectively isolates the active devices, the LOCOS process presents some disadvantages associated with the nature of the oxidation process. For example, thick isolation structures formed through oxidation consume a considerable amount of area on the chip limiting the amount of area available for active devices and thereby limiting the active device density. Moreover, during the oxidation process there is lateral encroachment into the active areas of the chip. This lateral encroachment is known as bird's beak encroachment and it further limits the size of the active areas of the chip and the active device density. This bird's beak encroachment remains a significant problem even as device dimensions and isolation structure dimensions are decreased to accommodate higher active device densities.
One alternative to the LOCOS process is known as trench isolation. Advantageously, trench isolation processes do not experience bird's beak lateral encroachment and resulting active area loss. Trench isolation generally involves etching a trench in the substrate between the active devices and filling the trench with an insulator such as silicon oxide. In order to provide high field threshold voltages and to prevent the formation of a conductive channel between neighboring active devices, the trench must have a sufficient depth and width.
However, scaling down trench dimensions to accommodate higher active device densities on an integrated circuit adversely affects the field threshold voltage and can result in parasitic conduction between the active devices. Consequently, while trench isolation techniques generally do not have the lateral encroachment problems associated with LOCOS isolation structures, trench isolation structures must still have relatively large minimum dimensions to maintain adequate isolation between adjacent active devices which inhibits significant increase in device density on an integrated circuit.
One solution to this problem is to use a channel-stop implant to dope side walls of the trench so as to further limit the formation of a conductive channel between the active devices. Channel-stop implants are usually the same dopant type as the dopant type of the substrate, but channel stop implants are implanted in higher doping concentrations to effectively limit the channel formation. However, doping trench walls is a tedious and technically difficult process, and the doped implant often has a tendency to diffuse into active device regions, resulting in undesirable changes in device characteristics.
One other alternative trench isolation method fills the trench with polysilicon. In this method device isolation can be achieved by applying a low bias to the polysilicon so as to prevent channel formation between the active devices. However, as the trench dimensions are reduced, the field threshold voltage of these isolation structures may not be adequately high enough to prevent channel formation. Moreover, as in the case of silicon oxide filled trenches, poly filled trenches may still require side wall channel stop implants.
Thus, in semiconductor integrated circuit technologies, there is need for isolation structures having high field threshold voltages and improved isolation characteristics so as to provide isolation between adjacent active devices in higher active device density applications. To this end, there is a need for isolation structures that reduce channeling between adjacent devices but do not require time consuming doping processes to achieve adequately isolating structures.